Bureaucracy
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Transcript of Bureaucracy
The Bureaucracy
Michael P. Fix
Bureaucracy Defined
An organizations with a hierarchical structure and specific responsibilities, which operate on management principles intended to enhance efficiency and effectiveness
Weber’s Characteristics of Bureaucratic Structures
Hierarchy Specialization Formalization Permanent staff
From wikipedia.org
Constitutional Basis for the Bureaucracy Article I, Section 8
Necessary and Proper Clause
Article II, Section 2
Organizational Structure of the Federal Bureaucracy
Departments Independent Agencies
Independent Regulatory
Commissions
Government Corporations
Departments
State (1789) Treasury (1789) Defense (1947; formerly the War
Department, created in 1789, and the Navy Department, created in 1798)
Justice (1870; created in 1789 as Office of the Attorney General – a part-time position, made a cabinet level department in 1870)
Interior (1849) Agriculture (1889) Commerce (1913) Labor (1913)
Health and Human Services (1953 as Health, Education, and Welfare; reorganized with Education as a separate department in 1979)
Housing and Urban Development (1965)
Transportation (1966) Energy (1977) Education (1979) Veterans Affairs (1989) Homeland Security (2002)
Independent Agencies
These agencies are independent from larger departments, but still under the control of the president.
Independent Regulatory Commissions
While these agencies are run by “political” figures, they are independent of both the president and larger departments.
Government Corporations
These agencies are run by an independent board in the same way as a private corporation.
Growth and Development of the Bureaucracy
The Development of the Bureaucracy
The Expansion of Federal Civil Employment
Shrinking Government
“Government is not the solution
to our problems; it is the problem”
Patronage vs. Merit System
Patronage System
Government employees are hired and fired based on
support for a political party or individual
candidate.
Merit System
Government employees are hired
based on their qualifications and
cannot be fired arbitrarily for political
reasons
Assassination of President Garfield
Patronage vs. Merit System
Pendleton Act (1883)
Hatch Act (1939)
Legislating Change
Image of the Bureaucracy
The Image of the Bureaucracy
Do federal agencies receive blame unfairly for falling short of perfection?
The Image of the Bureaucracy
Percentage of Americans rating the performance of the above agencies as “excellent” or “good”
Advantages and Problems with the Bureaucracy
The Advantages of Bureaucracy
Bureaucracies are created and evolve as a means to undertake the purposes and
responsibilities of organizations. They provide:
• Standardization• Expertise and Competence• Accountability• Coordination
The Problems of Bureaucracy
No Child Left Behind (2002)
Government Accountability Office reported in 2004 that the law had been poorly implemented
States complained that the U.S. Department of Education failed to provide appropriate guidelines
Transportation Security Administration
Created in November, 2001 after the 9/11 attacks
Agency was plagued with problems of theft and poorly-conducted background checks of employees
The Problems of Bureaucracy
Size – Can institutions this large effectively manage many of the tasks assigned them?
Coordination – Can agencies with offices throughout the country effective coordinate a single policy?
The Problems of Bureaucracy
The Iron TriangleInterest Groups
Congressional Committees
Bureaucratic Agencies
Bureaucratic Function
The Functions of the Federal Bureaucracy Implementation
Regulation
Administration
Providing Information
Implementation
The executive branch is charged with the enforcement of the law, and agencies are largely the mechanism for this.
However, most statutes contain vague language, so in implementing the law agencies often have great discretion on its exact meaning.
Regulations
General statutory language can become the basis for the bureaucracy’s development of its own precise rules, a form of agency-created law called regulations, which govern the topics under a particular agency’s jurisdiction
Statutes also specify the procedures that agencies must use in developing regulations
Administration
Carrying out the day-to-day
business of the government
From www.thefreedictionary.com
Providing Information
Bureaucrats provide information for Congress to use in crafting and approving statutes
Formal method
Committee proceedings or requests for reports and documents to be supplied by government agencies
Legislative staffers or members of congress contact agency officials with questions
Informal method
Quasi-Judicial Functions
Oversight and Accountability
Oversight and Accountability
All three branches of government have the power to subject the bureaucracy to oversight and accountability